{"id":335861,"date":"2025-08-21T21:07:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T20:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=335861"},"modified":"2025-08-21T21:13:58","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T20:13:58","slug":"tehrans-leaders-split-over-war-talks-and-morale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/iranian-regime-infighting\/tehrans-leaders-split-over-war-talks-and-morale\/","title":{"rendered":"Tehran\u2019s Leaders Split Over War, Talks, and Morale"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Influencial
Influential MP Hamid Rasaee argues with his peers in the Iranian regime’s parliament (Majlis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The clerical dictatorship\u2019s own outlets are sounding the alarm over deepening splits at the top, even as influential figures unleash fresh attacks on those associated with engagement with the United States. Beneath the surface, the leadership fears that any concessions to the West at the negotiating table would further demoralize its already weakened forces and embolden a restless population ahead of potential new uprisings. The combined effect is a portrait of a power structure fraying under pressure\u2014politically, strategically, and administratively\u2014while scrambling to impose message discipline and criminalize dissent.<\/p>\n

An editorial on the Supreme Leader\u2019s website, dated August 18, urges absolute unanimity among officials and warns that any divergent messaging on \u201csensitive\u201d files\u2014especially the nuclear program\u2014\u201cserves the enemy.\u201d Under the headline \u201cDon\u2019t load the enemy\u2019s magazine,<\/a>\u201d it declares: \u201cIf unity and one voice on key national issues were necessary last summer, in the present circumstances they are vital and decisive.\u201d Citing Ali Khamenei\u2019s earlier admonition that \u201ca single voice must be heard\u201d from state institutions, the piece labels contrary views on enrichment and policy\u2014\u201crepeating the dictated list of America\u201d\u2014as aiding adversaries \u201cin this wartime ceasefire,\u201d and concludes that echoing \u201cthe enemy\u2019s dictation\u201d is a serious blow to regime interests.<\/p>\n

On the same theme, Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Ejei warned officials<\/a> on the same day to \u201cwatch their words and actions,\u201d framing internal disputes as ammunition for foreign psychological operations. By stressing \u201cunity and national cohesion\u201d and condemning those who see \u201csolutions in America,\u201d Ejei tacitly acknowledges factional conflict over strategy\u2014between those seeking a negotiated exit from crisis and those doubling down on confrontation. Calls to rally \u201caround the axis of the Supreme Leader\u201d read less like confident leadership than an admission that central control is slipping.<\/p>\n

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Rival Factions in #Iran<\/a> Turn on Each Other as Dread of Opposition Intensifieshttps:\/\/t.co\/2EKAzCkyGT<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n